Paolo ooevaja



P. GORVAJA. Ballasting Ships in Port.

Patented Mar. 23 I880.

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INVENTOR WITNESSES ja/Z WV TORNEYS.

N.PETERs, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER, VIASNINGTGN.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

PAOLO GORVAJA, OF PALERMO, SIOILY, ITALY.

BALLASTING SHIPS IN PORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,800, dated March 23, 1880.

Application filed September 6, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAOLO GoRvAJA, of Palermo, Island of Sicily, Kingdom of Italy, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ballasting Ships in Port, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the method and apparatus for ballasting ships in port.

The present mode of outside ballasting con sists in hanging logs of wood by chains or ropes from the sides of the vessel as counterbalancing-weights, so that when the vessel attempts to keel over from any cause while lying at the wharf or being towed the weight of the log on theliiigher side alone prevents her from doing so, for on the lower side the slackening of the chains or ropes lets the log on this side float in the water; hence it is of no use, and the strain of righting the vessel is thrown entirely 011 one side. Also, this arrangement fails in its purpose of keeping the vessel steady, as when she rolls the log sinking in the water relieves her of its weight, whereby an unsteady motion is maintained; further, as the logs are not rigidly connected with the ship, they are apt to chafe her sides.

Now, the object of my invention is to temporarily ballast ships by the weight and buoyancy of the ballasting'logs, combined; and it consists, first, in the method of ballasting by the weight and buoyancy of the logs; and, secondly, in the construction and arrangement of the logs for the purpose of ballasting the vessel in this way.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vessels hull provided with my improved ballasting apparatus. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the same on line .00 wof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view-of the suspension-rod for the logs; and Fig. 4.

represents a modified form of device for connectin g the suspension-rods with the spar.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A is the hull of the vessel, B is the deck, and 0 O are the bul- Across the deck are laid, and secured against turning, spars D D, with their ends projecting through openings in the bulwarks and suffioiently far beyond to insure the sides of the vessel from contact with the suspensionrods E pendent from the ends of the spars.

The suspension-rods E are composed of two sections--an upper one, a, and a lower one, a, the two being connected together by a screwthreaded sleeve, b,en gaging the screw-threaded ends of the rods, as clearly shown in detail in Fig. 3. The object of this construction of the suspension-rods is to enable them to be lengthened orshortened, as may be necessary, to adjust them to the draft of the vessel. Instead of rods a a, and sleeve 1), any other suitable device or connection for adjusting the lengths of suspension'rods E may be employed.

The upper ends of the suspension-rods E are pivoted to the ends of the spars D, so that the said rods E may swing freely in the direction of the length of the vessel, but are held rigidly against any lateral'movement, to prevent their striking against or coming in contact with the vessels sides. This pivotal connection between the rods E and spars D is made in several difi'erent ways. One connection may consist of a ring, b, placed over the end of the spar and secured thereto against turning. From its under side depends a link or coupling, 0, to which the upper end of section a is pivoted. Another pivotal connection consists of a plate, (1, attached to the under side of the spar, from which depends a link, d, or coupling, to which the end of rod E is pivoted. Still another pivotal connection consists of a link, c,,or coupling, with a screw-bolt, c, which is passed up through the end of the spar from the under side, and secured in place by a burr, the rod E being pivoted as before. Another arrangement for the pivotal connection is composed of a coupling, f, on the end of a shank, g, which is driven into the end of the spar D, the rod E being pivoted to the coupling, as shown in Fig. 3. The lastform of pivotal connection is shown in Fig. 4, and it consists of a collar, h, on the end of rod E, which is passed over the end of the spar, and confined between cleats 'i i, so as to turn freely on the spar as a pivot when the rod E is swung.

The lower end of rod E is forked, and attached by cooks and eyebolts k I, screwed into the logs, or attached by other suitable fastenings to the logs D, or by sinking the ends of the branches into the logs and securing them by pivots, as at n in Fig. 1.

By the pivotal connection of the suspensionrods E with the spars D the logs F are permitted to swing freely in the direction of the length of the vessel, or in a plane parallel to but at a proper distance from the sides of the vessel, to prevent contact therewith. At the same time the pivotal connection between the suspension-rods E and the logs F permits the former to turn freely on their pivotal connections when moved lengthwise Without affect ing the logs, which maintain a position parallel to the water, and thus are always in a position to buoy up the vessel when they are in the water.

The ballasting-logs F are of the general form of a boat, with a very great length in proportion to their breadth. Their sides are either tapered to the bottom, like a boat, or stepped, the two forms being being shown clearly in Fig. 2.

By means of ropes G G the ends of the logs are connected with the bow and stern, respectively, of the vessel, as shown in Fig. 1. The purpose of this arrangement is to limit the swing of the logs lengthwise.

The operation of the invention is as follows When the vessel is loaded and the ballastinglogs F are applied, the ropes at one endsay G, at the sternare slackened. This permits the logs to swing forward and, of course, upward, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, and thus accommodate themselves to the draft of the vessel. As the cargo is discharged and the vessel lightened the logs F swing back, the slackened ropes G G being tightened as the suspension-rods E approach a perpendicular position. As the vessel rises she hears through the suspension-rods E on the logs F at her two sides; and the logs being held from moving ofl" sidewise by the manner of connecting the suspension-rods E with the spars, and from lengthwise movement by the ropes G G, they sustain the two sides of the vessel by their buoyancy, and thus ballast her and keep her steady.

If, from any cause whatever, the ship careens,the log on the rising side acts as a weight or counter-balance, while the log on the loweringside sustains this side by its buoyancy, the weight of one log and the buoyancy of the other co-operating to ballast and steady the vessel. This co-operation is brought about by the adjustment of the logs F being such that when the vessel is perfectly ballasted the logs are equally in the water and ballast her by buoying up her two sides but as soon as the vessel careens, either by her instability or by the force of the wind, or from other cause, the log F on the side that rises is lifted, and its weight, instead of being sustained by the water, is thrown on the ship, with the effect of resisting her movement and drawing her back, while the downward movement of the vessel on the other side is resisted by the buoyancy of the log F on the; lower side; logs co-opera-te, one by its weight and the other byits buoyancy, to arrest the careenin g of the ship.

My method of ballasting by the combined weight and buoyancy of the logs enables me, in cases where the instability of the ship is not too great, to employ a single .log with safety. This is done by suspending one of the logs from a spar of sufficient length to yield ample leverage, so that the log will rest on the water and ballast the vessel perfectly, both as a counter-balance and buoy in itself at the same time.

By availingmyselt' of the combined buoyancy and weight of the logs much smaller logs may be employed; and where the ship has room, so that the length of the spars to which the logs are hung can beincreased without'inconvenience, very small logs will answer the purpose on account of the leverage obtained.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent In ballasting ships in port, the combination of the inflexible rods E with the logs F, spars D, and ropes G G, substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the said logs are adapted to be adjusted and held in position for ballasting and steadying the ship, either by their buoyancy alone or by the buoyancy of one and the weight of the other cooperating together.

PAOLO GORVAJA.

Witnesses WILTON O. DONN, O. SEnewIoK.

Thus the two 

